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Sumner's Connor Wedington, a UW commit, returned a kick 87 yards for a touchdown, weaving back and forth across the field to lift the Spartans to a 34-27 victory over Graham-Kapowsin on Thursday at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner. http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/high-school/article103627052.html

Sumner's Connor Wedington, a UW commit, returned a kick 87 yards for a touchdown, weaving back and forth across the field to lift the Spartans to a 34-27 victory over Graham-Kapowsin on Thursday at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner. http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/high-school/article103627052.html By TJ Cotterill, Kevin Manning and Lauren Smithtcotterill@thenewstribune.con; kmanning@thepuyallupherald.com; lsmith@theolympian.com

Sumner's Connor Wedington, a UW commit, returned a kick 87 yards for a touchdown, weaving back and forth across the field to lift the Spartans to a 34-27 victory over Graham-Kapowsin on Thursday at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner. http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/high-school/article103627052.html By TJ Cotterill, Kevin Manning and Lauren Smithtcotterill@thenewstribune.con; kmanning@thepuyallupherald.com; lsmith@theolympian.com

Sumner High School football coach Keith Ross was confused, yet joyous.

Why did the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles kick it to Connor Wedington?

“I don’t know,” Ross said. “I’m glad they did.”

Wedington returned a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown with 2 minutes, 5 seconds remaining — weaving left and right. His jersey snapped onto his back when he ran through a defender who had grabbed it, then he juked one last player before finally reaching the end zone.

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That gave No. 5 Sumner the lead, and one they wouldn’t let go of in a 34-27 victory against No. 3 Graham-Kapowsin in a 4A South Puget Sound League game on Thursday at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner.

The Spartans (4-0) trailed 27-24 before that return.

“I wasn’t going to go down,” said Wedington, who verbally committed to the University of Washington. “It’s a critical situation, we’re down, we’re losing and I had my opportunity, and I had to step up and be a leader of this team. And I executed.”

But now they’re in the same league, three years after Sumner was in the 2A SPSL. Last year, Sumner was in the 3A SPSL.

Now, as a 4A school?

“I think we can run with the big dogs,” said junior running back Tre Week, who had five catches for a team-high 124 yards.

Sumner had none of the momentum in the first half.

Then, as suddenly as a Rainwater interception return, Sumner had all of it.

Rainwater darted on third down for a Graham-Kapowsin pass to the right sideline and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown to cut G-K’s lead to 13-7.

“Game changer,” Ross said of the play. “Instead of them going up 21-0, we’re in the ballgame.”

“That was the reason we won,” Sumner quarterback Luke Ross said.

Then the Spartans put the game on Luke Ross’ back.

Graham-Kapowsin was bent on stuffing the run. Sumner’s veer offense produced 32 yards on 17 carries. Wedington had eight carries for two yards.

Luke Ross put Sumner ahead when he flung a pass off his back foot to a wide-open Tre Weed, who ran it 63 yards to put the Spartans ahead 14-13, after the extra point, with 46.7 seconds left in the first half.

Luke Ross was 12 of 26 passing for 260 yards and two touchdowns.

His father, Keith Ross, said that offensive coordinator Spencer Crace changed the game plan at halftime.

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Darrien Bates scored 13 points and got a postgame interview with teammate Emmitt Matthews Jr. following Wilson's 47-44 win over Enumclaw in a matchup of two teams that played in a Tacoma Dome a season ago. This game was at Highline College.